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Meagan Hockaday: Young mother of 3 killed in her home by Oxnard Police

Rest In Peace // Que Descanse En Paz

[Español abajo] The Todo Poder Al Pueblo Collective offers our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and young daughters of Meagan Hockaday, who was killed by the Oxnard Police Department when police responded to a domestic violence call at her home on Saturday, March 28, 2015. The OPD are alleging that she was holding a knife, which compelled the officer to open fire while fearing for his or her life.

We are not jumping to any conclusions but the OPD’s history of extrajudicial killings force us to ask:

1) Why was a firearm deployed as a first resort instead of less-lethal means of force (tazer, bean bags, etc)?
2) Who was the officer that killed Hockaday? In how many other incidents has s/he used excessive force or drawn their weapon in similar incidents?
3) What sort of training has the Oxnard PD undergone in cases of domestic violence or mental illness, especially since the August 2012 killing of Michael Mahoney and the February 2014 shooting of Rosa Guillen?
4) Why does the City of Oxnard continue to stand by Chief Jeri Williams’ claims that a CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BODY is NOT necessary for a police department that has recently been forced to pay millions of dollars in settlements and is involved in at least 2, possibly 3 ongoing investigations of extrajudicial killings by officers?

Women of color suffer disproportionate violence at the hands of the state, and every 28 hours in the USA a black woman, man or child is executed by either a police or correctional officer, a security guard, or a vigilante. In such conditions we can never give the Oxnard Police Department the instant, un-critical benefit of the doubt and we urge the community to continue to demand answers to the questions raised by the tragic killing of Meagan Hockaday.